Flashes
by graysonizer
Summary: Series of oneshots about one of our favorite superhero teams! Constructive criticism welcomed, flames accepted if helpful.
1. Destruction

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

Aqualad looked around the barren wasteland. He frowned.

Kaldur had not visited Atlantis for quite some time, around half a year. He walked cautiously along. This was not how he imagined his home…not at all.

The spectacular kingdom of the seas had been brought to its knees by seemingly low threat bandits. The very water seemed gray with fear and despair.

The once lush and beautiful plants were now dead and wilted. The once beautiful palace had become unkempt, wild, and ugly. Cracks were showing in the walls, and if you stared long enough, you could see heads covered in black fabric occasionally poking out from small windows.

There was no one around. He had seen a small child run from behind a bush a while ago. The child looked like a girl, but it was hard to tell because the girl's clothes and face were covered with dirt. Her hair was tangled up in what looked like a bun. The only clean part of her face was covered with tear tracks.

The little girl let out a squeak of fear upon seeing Aqualad. She ran away as fast as she could.

Aqualad furrowed his brow in confusion. "No, wait!" he called after her, taking chase. "I will not hurt you!"

She wailed, and then ran behind a stonewall.

Aqualad skidded to a halt, and looked behind the wall, seeing nothing. He frowned.

Kaldur looked ahead, seeing the ruined kingdom. "No…" he whispered, his voice cracking. "No…"

"Terrible, isn't it?" Aqualad jumped as he heard a voice behind him. "Like a nightmare."

Aqualad's eyes widened as he turned around. "Tula?" he said, his voice heavy with disbelief. "Are you ill?"

His friend's once fiery red hair was now dull and limp. Her eyes had lost their challenging shine, and she hunched over, as if she was afraid they were being watched. "You could say that," she said sadly. "I'm sorry you had to come visit now," Tula said. "Atlantis is not at its best, as you see."

The sorceress began to walk at a fast pace. "Hurry," she said. "We are not allowed outside now."

"What?" Aqualad asked. "Not allowed outside? What has happened—?

"I'll explain when we're safe." She said, looking over her shoulder to see if they were being followed. "Then again, we're never safe now."

Aqualad said nothing. His brain was racing much too fast, so he simply walked along with his friend.

They soon reached a large dip in the land, with small rundown houses littering the inside of it.

They could hardly be called houses, however. The huts looked to be about one room large, with one floor, and possibly a basement. It felt like a ghost town.

Tula dragged him into one of the huts, hurriedly slamming the door shut behind him.

Aqualad started when he heard a voice from a corner. "Tula? Who's this?"

Tula smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. They remained pits of sadness and hopelessness. "Don't tell me you cannot recognize your best friend?"

Garth emerged from the shadows. He too had duller hair, a paler complexion, and dead eyes. "Kaldur?" He whispered, as if he could not believe his eyes.

"Garth…" Aqualad murmured. "How are you?"

"I have been better," his old friend admitted. "Of course, Tula has probably already told you why—

"I have not," the red haired girl interrupted. "We were outside. It was not safe."

"Of course," Garth admonished himself. "I forget. Come, Kaldur, sit with us."

He pulled a chair from a corner of the hut.

"Thank you," Kaldur said.

Garth swallowed, clearing his throat. "Six months ago, about a week after you went back to the world of the surface dwellers, a new man came to Atlantis. He demanded a meeting with the King, and after three days, was granted permission. The guards all seemed strangely taken with him, which should have been our first clue. But we were all too trusting." Here Garth let out a sigh of regret. "Two weeks later, random people began to sign up for the position of a guard. The number of guards tripled incredibly quickly. For a while, we simply thought that people had a sudden sense of duty." He laughed bitterly. "How stupid we were. The guards soon launched an ambush on the king, queen, and prince. King Orion was banned from Atlantis, and Queen Mera and her son were allowed to stay if they did not come to the palace."

At this point, Aqualad could not restrain himself. "Why did my king not inform me of this?" He asked, worried.

"King Orion was shamed. We can assume that he has not even informed the Justice Band of this." Tula said.

"Justice League," Aqualad corrected her.

Garth continued. "The guards soon took over the palace, and the rest of Atlantis as well, by infiltrating us. We were brought down from the inside, and were forced to retreat here, where we struggle to survive, day by day."

Aqualad was horrified. "Have you not tried to fight back?" He asked.

They shook their heads. "Garth is the only man left," she explained. "They killed the rest by inviting them to a wine tasting event, and poisoned the drinks. He was sick that day."

The leader of Young Justice was lost for words. "I am sorry," he said. "I will get help."

"You're going to leave us again?" Garth was suddenly furious. "You leave for six months, come back to see Atlantis in ruins, and walk away like a coward!"

"Garth, calm down," Tula snapped at him. "He has to leave. To get help. The three of us alone will not be enough to take down those evil people."

She turned to Aqualad. "Kaldur, please come back as soon as you can. We shall miss you."

"I shall."

"Wait!" Garth called, sounding apologetic. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I'll walk you to the transporter."

Aqualad smiled at him. "If you wish to."


	2. Uprising

**This is an AU.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, or the song Uprising by Muse.**

Artemis and the rest of the village of Gotham looked up at the red haired teenager in awe. He was standing on top of a pedestal that only the president and cleanup crews were allowed on. She had her weapons concealed inside of her pocket, in case things got ugly.

"What does he think he's doing?" An old woman on the right hissed. "The Enforcers will kill him!"

The teen, who called himself Wally, did not seem to care. "We must cause an uprising!" He yelled. "Don't you get sick of being herded and killed off like cattle? We are _humans!_ We have _rights!_ They will not control us! They will not force us! They will stop degrading us!"

Some other teens climbed up there with him. There was an African American with silver hair, a small boy wearing sunglasses, an older boy with jet-black hair and an emotionless expression, and red haired girl who was unnaturally pale.

"Wally's right," the red haired girl called out. "We cannot live like this forever. We must resist! They are killing your children! They are killing your parents! They are killing your siblings! They are killing your _spirits!_"

Artemis felt a rush of anger at her words. The president and his forces had handicapped her own mother.

The blonde shoved her way through the crowd, going up onto the pedestal to stand next to the girl. "We must fight the man!" Artemis called out. "We must fight the control! We must fight the power!"

Looking closer at the people on the pedestal with her, she realized she knew them.

There was Wally, who had been dropped into a vat of chemicals when he was younger, and somehow survived, with the power of super speed. His mother and father had abandoned him. He lived with his aunt and uncle.

There was Kaldur, whose parents were fishermen, until they died because the government had dumped their leftover waste and chemicals into the bay, poisoning the very fish that they ate. It was a miracle that Kaldur had survived. Half the village had been killed.

There was Richard, or Dick, who had been used as a project for enhanced eyesight. The project had gone horribly wrong, forcing him to wear special lenses for the rest of his life. His parents were dead, and he lived with a rich man that could not care less about him.

Conner wasn't even a real boy. He had been cloned off of an Enforcer, who had abandoned him out of disgust once he found out. Conner did not live with anyone, but somehow survived each day.

Megan lived with her uncle. They had come from another country, but had been mercilessly tortured when it was found out that they had been telling villagers how nice other parts of the world were. Like that country "France" she had been telling them about.

The teens stood in a line, letting the villagers evaluate them. Artemis' mother pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"Artemis!" Paula called. "Artemis, get down from there! The Enforcers will kill you!"

"I don't care, Mom," Artemis said fiercely. "Maybe if I'm gone, you'll realize what I've been trying to tell you. We cannot live like this for all of our lives."

Artemis' mother shook her head; tears flowing freely down her hallowed face. "There is no other way," she said.

Artemis opened her mouth to reply, but shut it in shock as the Enforcers began to make their way through the crowd. Their black uniforms made them hard to spot, but the way the crowd fearfully parted before them made it quite easy to see where they were.

"Step down, kids." The main Enforcer growled. "Don't make us hurt you—

"We have never made us hurt you," Conner snarled. "You choose to. You are cruel. This government is _wrong!_" He bellowed out to the crowd. "The way you are living is _wrong!_ In other countries, they do not live like this! They are free! They can—

He was cut off by a dart shoving itself into his chest. Conner fell to the ground, motionless.

"No!" Megan shrieked. "Conner!" She wailed. She rounded on the Enforcers. "You are sick," she whispered with disgust. Megan picked up where Conner had left off. "In France, they can go for walks! They have food! They are free! The government has been lying to you!" She said, hysterical. "If you believe anything they say, you are lying to yourself!"

She too was knocked unconscious.

"Enough of this," the head Enforcer growled. "Tranquilize the lot and ship them to the president. Let's see what he has to say about this."

"_No_." Artemis' voice cut through the pandemonium. "Let's _not_." She pulled out her bow and arrows, aiming for the Enforcer's chest. "You like darts? My arrows are bigger."

Dick nodded. "I'm right behind you." He said, pulling out sharp metal discs.

"As am I." Kaldur's quiet voice comforted her. He pulled out two pieces of seemingly sold metal, which molded itself to his preference. "We shall go down together."

"Who says you're going down?" A gruff voice asked. A redheaded teen stepped up beside Artemis. He looked to be older than Wally, but not in his twenties yet. He pulled out his own bow and arrows. Roy.

"Roy?" Paula Crock's disbelieving voice cut through the air. He was her only son, who had gone to another village to be with his father. Now he was back. Why?

"Now really isn't the time," he said, aiming for the head Enforcer's temple.

The Enforcer merely scoffed. "Cute," he muttered. "Real cute. Give up now, and we may not kill you."

Dick sneered. "You make it sound like you can," he said, voice full of contempt.

"We can." He said calmly. "Surrender now. Or else you die."

"I'm fine with that," Artemis spoke up. "I could not care less about my life."


	3. Runaway

**A/N: I think this is the fastest I've ever updated on a story! Yeah! **_**Pats self on the back**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

Wally didn't know why she ran from him. Not literally, of course. That would be ridiculous. He couldn't imagine Artemis running away, screaming, "Stop touching me, you bastard!" At the top of her lungs every time he tried to hold her hand.

They'd been dating for three weeks, but she still flinched when he tried to hold her hand. She'd said it was a reflex, but he could tell she was lying.

He didn't want her to run away from him. He was chasing her, but this was the only time she would be faster than him. And he hated it.

It wasn't just hand holding, though. Basically any physical display of affection. They'd hug, and she'd stiffen, before responding. They'd kiss, and she would hesitate before responding.

After a while, Wally simply got fed up with it. He confronted her, which led to a furious shouting match, which led to them avoiding each other.

Robin had been the first to really make an effort to get them to speak to each other again. Kaldur thought it was an invasion of privacy, Superboy simply didn't care, and M'gann was afraid of if they would be angry with her.

Robin simply dropped next to Wally on the couch on day, and calmly asked if they had sex.

Wally had promptly choked on his soda, fries, and hamburger, before replying with a shocked, "Dude! So not cool!"

Robin shrugged. "It was just a question."

Wally glanced incredulously at his friend. "A question you do not ask anyone! Especially people who are consuming food and drink!"

The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes. "Now that I've got your attention, I can do this." He smacked Wally on his head.

"Dude!" Wally wailed again. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot."

"I am not an—

"For once in your life, KF, shut up!" Robin was glaring at him. "Look, whatever issue you and Artemis are having right now is affecting the whole team. It's affecting Kaldur because you guys are making his decisions on missions harder for him. It's affecting M'gann because she thinks of Artemis as an Earth sister, and therefore feels her pain. It's affecting Superboy because it's affecting M'gann. Not to mention our overall performance as a team on missions!"

Robin took a breath, fully ready to continue on his rant. Wally cut him off, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, okay? But she's—

Here he was interrupted again. "I'm not done yet," Robin fumed. "Get off your lazy butt and go apologize!"

"But I don't get why she wouldn't touch me—

"Idiot!" Robin said furiously. "Idiot! The reason she doesn't like touching you affectionately is probably because she's not used to it! The only person before Young Justice that she really cared for was her mom! Do you think she's going to kiss you the same way she kissed her mom? No! So she doesn't know how to respond. She really likes you, which makes it even worse."

Wally was amazed. "Since when did you become Dr. Love?" he asked, slightly teasing.

"Since you've been an idiot. That is to say, forever. Not get up and go find her."

Before Wally can realize the insult, Robin is gone.

"Whatever," Wally mutters. He gets up off the couch, leaving his food behind, for once.

Artemis is probably the only person he would do that for.


	4. Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

**A/N: I had so much fun writing this. Bwahahaha. Sorry if it's not my best, I know the karaoke thing has been way overdone, but I wanted to try some generic stuff. It'll hopefully be the last time, I promise. Also, does anyone know if you spell Superboy's name Connor or Conner?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or the songs Love Story and Look at Me Now by Chris Brown and Taylor Swift. **

M'gann and Conner were sitting on the couch, watching a talent show.

"That boy is terrible," Conner said, cringing. The mentioned boy was attempting to rap, making their ears bleed.

"True," M'gann said. "But he's brave for going up there."

Superboy shrugged. "He's still terrible."

"Conner!" M'gann scolded him, giving him a light push. "That's not very nice."

He grinned. "I was just saying."

She smiled at him. "I'm sure. Oh! Look at her!" A small girl on stage suddenly captured the Martian's attention. She looked terrified.

The girl began to sing some song they had never heard of, but it sounded amazing.

"She's so good!" The Martian looked at her in envy and amazement. "I wish I could do that…"

An idea popped into Conner's head. He shoved it away for later.

_Later that afternoon…_

"Shut up." Superboy growled. He had called the team into the living room while M'gann and Artemis were out shopping, leaving just the guys.

"M'gann wants to have a karaoke contest." The words were out of his mouth before he could process what he just said.

Wally zoomed over to him, waggling his eyebrows. "Well we know you wears the pants in your relationship, now don't we?" He said smirking. "Of course, with me and Artemis it's obvious that—

"That she wears the pants and you wear the skirt." Robin said, grinning, ignoring Wally's angry cry of, "Dude!". "That's really nice of you, Supes. So, what music?"

Superboy looked relieved that Robin had saved him from Wally's…friendliness. "I think she liked that one blonde girl…Taylor Swift?"

Wally cringed. "Wow, Supey, have you been ignoring her or something?"

Kaldur finally stepped in. "Would it be alright if there was other music as well?" He asked, trying to cover up his desperation. "Taylor Swift is…nice…but would get a bit repetitive."

"Yeah. But she needs to win." Superboy said.

"Okay," Wally agreed. "It's fine, we know that she can't compare to my lovely voice."

"Um, sure, KF, whatever makes you happy." Robin said, smirking.

"Dude!"

Superboy's irritation level was growing. "Are you unable to say anything else? And will you please get off of me?"

"Rejected!" Came Robin's delighted cackle.

Superboy wondered why he even talked to them. Wally was definitely lowering his IQ.

_Even later that afternoon. You know what? Let's just call it evening. Oo, rebel!_

They had finally set everything up, and got permission to use the training room. When the girls came back, they were going to be shocked.

When they did, M'gann looked as cheerful as ever, but Artemis looked like she had just endured hours of torture. Which, come to think of it, she probably had.

The archer stormed over to Wally. "You'd better have made what I just went through worth it," she hissed, grabbing him by his shirt.

Wally chuckled nervously. "Hey, babe, no worries! We've got it all ready."

"You'd better."

Stopping himself from eavesdropping any longer on their conversation, Superboy walked over to his own girlfriend, who was curiously observing the training room.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her.

She jumped. "Oh, hi! What's this?" She asked, gesturing around the room.

"Karaoke contest."

"Really? That's so great! Is there Taylor Swift?" M'gann asked excitedly.

He laughed. "Yes, there's Taylor Swift."

She beamed, and then jumped at Wally's booming voice from the center of the room.

"Alright, so, as you know, this is a karaoke contest! If you didn't, please go away!"

"Darn," some random old man in the corner muttered. "I thought this was for the lottery…"

"Exit's on your right, sir," Wally said, as if this happened every day. "Anyways…first we shall have me! My beautiful voice and me! Ladies, try not to swoon."

"Uh, KF," Robin spoke up, grinning. "The only girls here are your girlfriend and M'gann. M'gann's taken, idiot."

"Shut up," Wally grumbled. He immediately perked up. "I will be singing Look at Me Now by Chris Brown!"

(I'm not going to put the lyrics.)

Everyone's ears were bleeding by the time he finished.

"Thank you, thank you!" Wally said proudly, jumping off the stage.

Superboy nudged M'gann. "You should sing," he whispered.

M'gann shook her head, eyes wide. "No, I don't think I should. What if they laugh?" She asked worriedly.

"They won't laugh," he reassured her. "If they do, I'll pound them."

She laughed quietly, and hesitantly left his side to go onstage. "Um." She squeaked. "I'll be singing Love Story by Taylor Swift.

M'gann opened her mouth and began to sing.

…Let's just say that the team needed an ear hospital.

**A/N: It probably seems like I hate M'gann or something…ha. Don't worry, I don't! **


	5. Defense

**A/N: Hey! Hope you had a Happy Holidays! So, I have a PowerPoint of ideas for this now, and updates should be faster. I hope.**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I don't own Young Justice. Unless that's just a dream…within a dream…within a dream…. WITHIN A MUTANT DRAGON'S STOMACH. So, yeah, pretty sure I don't own.**

She wasn't like the other kids, and she knew that. If she was like them, how come they teased her? How come they didn't play with her? How come they laughed at her? They didn't tease the other kids. They played with the other kids. They didn't laugh at the other kids.

M'gann walked out slowly onto the playground at recess. She hated recess. No one ever talked to her, unless they were bullies, and she looked stupid and weird just standing by herself.

However, she wasn't alone for long.

M'gann looked up, worried, at the group of boys. They were the coolest in the fourth grade, always shoving each other around, joking in class, and hanging out with the older kids.

She wasn't one of the cool ones. She was a freak.

The boy on her left spoke up curiously, with a bit of a mean tint to his voice. "Why's your name so weird?" He asked. His blue eyes looked down at her.

M'gann shrugged nervously. "I—I don't know."

"Why don't you don't know? That's dumb." He said, smirking when his friends started to laugh.

They formed a circle around her, laughing. One of them came up, giving her a light shove.

Suddenly, a boy on her right in the circle scolded his friends, his raven colored hair gleaming in the sunlight of the late afternoon. "Guys, that's mean."

"What's wrong Conner? Do you like her?" Another sneered. M'gann decided she didn't like him very much either. He had red hair, like her, but he had green eyes.

"No." His voice was cold for a nine-year-old's. "It's just mean. Let's go play four square."

So the group of boys left, leaving the strange little girl with a newfound gigantic crush on Conner.

M'gann headed towards her locker after gym. Humming under her breath, she brushed her sweaty hair out of her face. It had been a difficult day, and that Artemis girl had shut her out of the locker room again. Even before that, she'd been pelted with basketballs, and probably had a couple of bruises. Then, she heard people come up from behind her. She braced herself, not turning around. Maybe that would make it not hurt as much. She didn't have time for this; Mr. Smith said he wouldn't give her another extension on her essay, and she had hardly started.

"What's up, freak?"

M'gann froze. She remembered that voice, and had finally learned the name of it. _Wally._

"Going back to your weird uncle? What happened to your parents?" She inwardly let out a weary sigh. _Richard._

"I bet they left because she was such a freak. I know I would. Isn't that right, freak?

Weren't you a bastard child?" _Roy._

A small tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. She hastily wiped it away, before they realized she was crying. That would only make things worse.

"Hey, guys, cut it out. She's crying." _Conner?_

She turned around to see her crush gazing sympathetically at her.

"Oh look," Roy sneered again. "The bastard child's crying. Boo hoo."

"Roy. Stop." Conner's voice was firmer this time.

"What's wrong with you, man? Don't tell me you _like_ that whore. I keep telling you, Artemis has got the hots for you…" Roy's voice trailed off as he and the group walked away.

She looked at their backs as they walked away. Eight years later, they were still at the top of the school. She was still at the bottom.

M'gann grabbed her things; still shocked that Conner had stood up for her again, and headed home.


	6. Conner's side of Defense

**A/N: Our Internet connection is terrible. It doesn't even deserve to be called an Internet connection. It should be called an internet-disconnection-that-sometimes-works-but-usually-doesn't-thingamajig. All right. Enough of my pissiness. For this chapter, I just switched around the point of view in Defense. Hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.**

Conner loved recess. It was one of the only times he could talk to his friends without being shushed by the annoying teacher's pets in class.

"Hey, Conner!" A girl called out to him. Her blond hair was very long. It was held in a low ponytail that reached down to her waist. Artemis was definitely a pretty girl, but she wasn't always nice.

"Hey, Artemis," He said. "Where's Roy?"

"He's over there." She pointed towards the storage closet. "He said he was getting a soccer ball."

_It is a good day for soccer,_ Conner thought. Running up to his friend, he expressed this thought.

However, before Roy could reply, Wally and Dick butted in.

"Guys, look at M'gann! She's being even weirder today." Wally laughed gleefully. "Let's go say hi!"

Conner shrugged. "Okay," he said doubtfully. "We should start playing soccer soon, though, if we want to have a real game. Roy's on my team."

"Nuh uh!" Wally protested. "He was on your team on Monday!"

"Today's Friday, genius." Dick teased him.

Wally shrugged. "So?"

Dick gave up.

The small group of boys headed over to the girl, who was scuffing her shoes on the pavement of the large blacktop. No one else was near her.

They formed a circle around her. Dick spoke first.

"Why's your name so weird?" he asked rudely, staring at her.

M'gann shrugged. "I—I don't know," she stammered worriedly.

"Why don't you know? That's dumb." Dick smirked as Wally and Roy cracked up. Conner gave a little forced chuckle. He didn't like it when his friends were like this.

Roy, still cracking up from Dick's comment (which really wasn't all that funny, now that Conner thought about it), gave the girl a small shove.

Something snapped inside of Conner. "Guys, that's mean." He said, hoping to stop them.

"What's wrong, Conner?" Wally sneered teasingly at him. "Do you like her?"

Conner narrowed his eyes. Wally was being a jerk today. So were Dick and Roy. All of them were being jerks. "No. It's just mean. Let's go play four square."

Conner walked off, hearing his friends follow behind him reluctantly.

"I thought we were playing soccer!" Roy complained.

"No," Conner said. "Let's play four square."

The bell rang, dismissing the rowdy class of juniors from the evils of calculus.

"Finally," Roy groaned in relief. "I thought Johnson would never shut up today."

Wally snorted. "That's only because you never pay attention. Straight B+'s, man. That's what you get for that."

"Oh, like an A is _so_ much better!" Roy defended himself. "And a B+ isn't that bad!"

Dick spoke up. "Actually, Roy, an A is _so_ much better. That's why it's first in the alphabet."

Conner rolled his eyes. "You guys are idiots." He teased them. "Discussing the _alphabet_? How lame can you get? Next, you'll be contemplating why Dora needs to go somewhere. Family troubles? Got dropped on her head as a baby? No, I bet it's because when trees fall in forests and no one's watching them, they don't make a sound…"

"Dude!" Wally wailed. "We're not psychologists!"

"Hey." Dick nudged Conner's arm. "Artemis heading this way. You gotta ask her now, man, if you wanna ask at all."

"For the last time, I'm not taking her to the prom!" The taller boy hissed. "I don't want to take her!"

"Then who are you going to take?" Roy butted in.

Before Conner could say, Artemis came fully within earshot.

"Hey, Conner." She greeted him. "What's up?"

The boy in question gave her a forced smile. "Nothing much. How about you? You have a basketball game tomorrow, right?"

Artemis nodded. "Yeah. They're going to be really hard."

"Oh." He searched his brain for something pleasant to say to the not so pleasant girl. "Uh, good luck?"

She seemed utterly bemused. "Thanks. Well, I got to go, have to finish Johnson's homework, you know?"

"Yeah." Conner nodded in understanding. "The guy's crazy."

"Yeah." Artemis seemed bored with the conversation. Conner allowed himself an inner fist pump of victory. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mhm." He wasn't even paying attention now.

Heading towards his locker, he felt Roy elbow him in the side. 

"There's the freak." He sneered. "Let's go say hi."

Rolling his eyes, he headed over to M'gann.

Wally started first. "What's up, freak?" He sneered.

M'gann had her back turned to them, and it seemed like she wouldn't turn around any time soon. The girl seemed reluctant to even acknowledge their existence, let alone their teasing.

Dick came next, eager to have a chance to tease her. Dick loved to pick on people, for some strange reason. "Going back to your weird uncle? What happened to your parents?"

"I bet they left because she was such a freak. I know I would. Isn't that right, freak?" Roy seemed to hate her the most, almost never calling her by her real name.

M'gann still hadn't turned around, but Conner could see a small tear leaking from the corner of one of her eyes.

She hastily wiped it away, probably afraid that they'd see it and just stay and jest at her further, but Conner couldn't let that happen.

"Hey, guys, cut it out. She's crying." His voice was firm. Conner knew this wasn't right, but he couldn't just abandon his friends. On the other hand, he couldn't just let M'gann get picked on for something she couldn't help being.

M'gann finally turned around, her brown eyes still watering slightly.

Roy wasn't about to let an opportunity pass him. "Oh look. The bastard child's crying. Boo hoo." He smirked when her gaze dropped to the floor.

Conner tensed. "Roy. Stop."

He walked off once more, and once more heard his group follow behind him.

"What's wrong with you, man?" Roy sounded frustrated. "Don't tell me you _like_ that whore. I keep telling you, Artemis has got the hots for you. The freak's good for nothing."

"Roy, I don't like Artemis." Conner was fed up. "She's a bitch."

Roy narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "I knew it. You like the freak, don't you?"

Conner let out a sigh of frustration. "No. I don't. Just because I don't like Artemis doesn't mean I have to like someone else."

Conner sped up, until his friends were a couple feet behind him. "I'll see you tomorrow." He called over his shoulder.


	7. Last Chance

**A/N: Yay, I'm on a roll! So, I've been looking over previous works of mine, and I've been seeing that I'm comma-happy. I'll try to stop that. No promises though. Hope you like this! It's been in my head since like July, but I finally thought of actual characters to use. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

Princess Artemis sat on her father's far left, her sister Jade directly next to her. On her father's right was Queen Paula. Her father, King John?, sat in the midst of them, tall and proud on his majestic throne.

"Artemis, Jade," He began. "Go and dance with a few of the noblemen. Your mother and I have some things we need to discuss."

Artemis knew exactly what he was talking about. Riots were becoming a common practice in the areas they ruled over, and the peasants were beginning to grow stronger. The king and prince of Gotham, their rivals, were said to be aiding them. It was possible for a war to break out. King John and Queen Paula did not want to worry their daughters with "such trivial matters", but they already had.

"Yes, father," Artemis murmured softly. Without waiting to hear Jade's response, she descended from her small throne, and down into the ballroom.

The blond princess gave a small start as she heard a voice from behind her.

"Care to dance, my princess?" Wally said, holding out his hand for her.

"Wally," Artemis breathed disbelievingly. "Tell me how you got in."

Wally was a follower of the Justice League, a group of peasants bent on overthrowing her father. The king of Gotham was a known member. Over time, Wally and Artemis had met on several different occasions, and had eventually grown to be friends, of a sort. She had not seen him for months, however.

He gave her a smirk. "My princess, you underestimate me. Would you like to dance?"

She accepted his offer, as well as his hand. They walked gracefully towards an edge of the dancers already on the floor, and began a classic waltz, keeping in time with the music.

He led, Artemis keeping behind him. Once they were a safe distance away from the other dancers, Wally spoke.

"You are as radiant as ever, princess."

Artemis' eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "Do not try to distract me with petty compliments. Why are you here?"

"Do you not wish to have my company, princess? If so, I shall take my leave."

The younger princess let out a sigh of exasperation. "Now is not the time for jesting. Are you here alone?"

"No, my princess." Wally said, beginning to be serious. "I will assume that Roy has not met you. He is the fellow dancing with your sister, over there."

He subtly turned them around, so Artemis could catch a good glimpse of another red haired man smirking down at her sister. Jade seemed slightly suspicious of him, but it was clear she was enjoying herself.

"Why is he here?" Artemis asked her dancing partner. "Surely there must be a purpose."

"My princess, it is not safe to discuss such matters in such a crowded place. Shall we go to the balcony?"

"Very well, then."

* * *

><p>Out on one of the several balconies of the palace, Wally turned to her, his smirk completely gone.<p>

"They will invade tomorrow."

Artemis felt her head begin to spin. _Tomorrow?_ That was much too soon!

"What is their plan?" she asked. "The Justice League has never been known to act without a plan."

"We shall be known for it now."

Artemis noted his significant use of "we" instead of "they".

Realizing that the princess was not going to reply, Wally went on. "You and your sister have to come with us. Otherwise you will be killed in the battle."

"No!" Artemis finally snapped out of her daze. "We cannot. My mother is here. My father is here. The League is coming to kill them, are they not? I cannot leave them here to die. If they die, so shall I. I am confident in saying Jade will make the same choice."

"Princess, the whole point of the Justice League is to overthrow tyranny. Your father's rule is tyrannical. Therefore, he must be eliminated." Wally said this all with cold precision.

"Eliminate him? Why? Could you not just imprison him? Why is elimination necessary?" Artemis felt almost hysterical. She knew the Justice League would stop at nothing, but she had not fully realized it until now.

"That would create even more problems. If we left him alive, his followers would create an uprising. There is no other solution."

Artemis swallowed. "I shall not go with you."

"You will be killed if you stay here!" Wally's voice cut across her like the sharpest knife.

She stayed firm in her decision. "I know. However, I cannot abandon my family."

"Your family is a family of _tyrants_—

"My decision has been made. I most implore you and Roy to take your leave, before I ask the guards for assistance." She said calmly. "Goodbye, Wally."

"Goodbye, princess." Wally's voice was full of frustration. He went back inside of the palace's ballroom, summoning Roy, and leaving.

* * *

><p>"Has your princess agreed to come?" Wally heard the scornful voice of Clark Kent.<p>

"No." He said bitterly, going into his tent.

Picking up all the drawings, letters, and keepsakes of him and Artemis, he went back outside. Then he dropped them all into the campfire, making it roar up abruptly.

"That was your last chance, princess," he murmured as he watched them burn. "That was your last chance."


	8. Last Chance 2

**A/N: Hi guys! Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I got a request for a second part to the previous oneshot, Last Chance, and here you go! Hope you like it.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

-line break-

When Wally woke up, Richard's face was looming over him, shaking his shoulder urgently.

"Wake up!" The dark haired boy hissed. "It's time. Get your things and head to the meeting center."

The Justice League's headquarters was an area of forest on the very edge of King Lawrence's area of rule, but with a quick shortcut directly to the palace itself. There was a relatively small clearing, which was the center of the headquarters and the also the meeting center. Around it, several tents were set up, belongings askew over the ground.

Some of the Justice League members were already there, but just the original ones – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern (John Stewart). They had all earned their names at different points in their lives and had interesting tales because of it.

Dick held Wally, who had started to head over to his uncle, back. He sent the younger boy an annoyed glare.

"Last minute conference," Batman's protégé explained.

Examining their body language, Wally realized his friend was right. "Got it." He muttered.

"Did Artemis come?" Dick asked, unaware of the previous night's events. "I haven't seen her around."

The red head gave a small, bitter laugh. "That's because she decided to be foolish and not come." He stared off into the distance, clearly preoccupied with thought.

Dick, or Robin, knew exactly what he was thinking. "KF." He said sharply, trying to knock some sense back into him. "This mission is much too important. You must focus on the goal we are trying to achieve, not a girl who foolishly rejected your offer of safety."

"She is not just a girl. You must understand!" Wally's voice was desperate, pleading for his friend to have empathy.

"Who is not just a girl?" Megan asked, coming up from behind.

Wally started. He had not realized that time had kept moving, and the other members of the Justice League and Young Justice had came out of their tents to assemble before the most important raid of their time together.

Kid Flash gave Megan a weak smile. "Do not worry yourself with such trivial matters, Megan." He tried to distract her. "It is of no large importance."

Megan, however, was much more perceptive than people gave her credit for. "But surely it is of some importance to you if you were discussing it in such an urgent yet secretive manner, yes? Or is this another odd part of your culture here?"

"Um…" Wally did not want to tell an outright lie to his sweet, innocent teammate, so he opted for quickly changing the discussion and scurrying away.

"I think that the meeting is about to begin. I should find somewhere to sit."

When the confused foreigner turned to Dick, he was already gone. "Those boys," she murmured to herself amusedly. "What is going on with them?"

As she took her seat, Batman and Superman stood up.

Superman spoke first. "We have done the final steps of organizing the downfall of the royal family."

Cheers rose up, along with the boisterous shouts of "Down with the king! Down with the king!" from some of the rowdier members.

Once the crowd was relatively quiet again, Clark began to talk once more.

"Group A will take care of resistance at the front, Group B will clear the insides, and Group C will kidnap the royals and bring them back, with no killing. That will be done later, as a public execution."

Wally visibly paled as the others cheered once more. He hoped they didn't mean Artemis, as well as her father.

Batman stepped up, commanding complete and utter silence from those around him. "Group A is all the new Justice League members. Think of this as a way to prove yourself. Group B is the original Justice League. Group C is Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Superboy. We wish you all successful endeavors. Group A will be lead by Green Arrow and Black Canary. Group B will be lead by Superman and myself. Group C will be lead by Aqualad."

After this large chunk of information, the crowd began to converse with each other again, but this time in whispers.

"Report to your leaders, now. They will go into details and then we shall begin."

The Young Justice team all hurried over to Aqualad, who was waiting for them with a calm expression on his face.

"Robin, you will be my second-in-command. Batman said before the meeting that group B shall get us safely to the royal family, where it will be our duty to take them back to here, with little to no physical harm. Red Arrow will be back here once we arrive, but will not be joining us on the bulk of this mission."

The team nodded in understanding. The moody young adult still helped them out, but only occasionally.

-line break—

**Artemis POV**

Artemis sat on her bed, worried for her family's lives. Today was the day they would be attacked, and probably killed. Nervously biting her lip, she resisted the moisture gathering in her eyes and took a deep breath. She was born with this family, and she would die with this family. Because that's what families do. They stick together.

Jade opened the door to her room cautiously. "Sister?" She alerted the younger girl to her presence. "I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes, Jade?" Artemis said, looking up. "What is the matter?"

"I have decided to run away. I do not wish to die here, but survive to see another day in the light of eyes not sheltered by royalty's luxury, but in eyes that can see the real truth of the world. I now plead for you to join me." Jade said, worried how she would take the news.

Jade? Leaving? "Pardon?" Artemis croaked out. "You are running away? You are abandoning our mother?"

"I told you why. I cannot truly see the truths of life here, sheltered and pampered in this lap of luxury and wealth. I shall leave. Will you come with me?"

"No. I do not know about your own feelings anymore, but I see family as people who stick together." Artemis' voice was cold, but her eyes shocked and grieving.

"Very well. I do so hope I will cross paths with you once again. Farewell." Jade walked out of the bedroom, and out of her sister's eyes.

-line break—

They were finally here. She could tell from the enraged yells and the clashing of metal upon metal, and the thud of flesh upon flesh.

Artemis sat on her bed, resigned to her fate, and waited for them to come for her. If she was lucky, she might even be able to apologize to Wally…

**BANG!**

She gave a small cry of surprise as her door flew open and Wally stood there, small cuts all over his face but relatively healthy.

"Wally…" Artemis breathed.

"No time to talk now, princess," the young man said, grabbing her arm and dragging her out into the chaos that was a hallway.

She stumbled as she saw bodies of guards moving left and right, and the rebels fighting just as fiercely.

Then she felt a heavy thud on her head, and the world went dark.


End file.
